Abe’s Audio Says Every Voice Fee at Its New Craft Arm Includes Super. Its Pitch Calls Some Home Studios ‘Hit-and-Miss’

Sydney production company Abe’s Audio has launched Craft, a division for agencies that want hand-picked human voices, directed sessions and sound design. Talent is billed at traditional rates, and the company says every fee now includes the voice artist’s superannuation. Two years ago the same company was building AI models of its actors’ voices.

For a working voice actor in Australia, the line that matters in this launch is a small one. Abe’s Audio says Craft voice talent will be billed at traditional rates, and that every fee includes the artist’s superannuation contributions. The company called that an industry first, and said it also cuts admin for clients.

The launch was reported by the Australian trade title Mediaweek on October 20. It’s a change of pace for a business that built its name on speed.

Slowing down on purpose

Abe’s Audio has been running for more than 25 years, and its regular voiceover and production work, now called Core, carries on alongside the new division. Its own website sells that side as “Premium audio. Trusted service. Delivered fast.”

The Abe's Audio homepage, with Core and the new Craft side by side. Image: Abe's Audio

Craft is the opposite pitch. “Craft takes the experience and service that we’re known for, and turns up the production value, offering bespoke voice talent & casting, directed production sessions and immersive sound design,” Head of Client Service Britt Dolbey said.

Founder Abe Udy called it “an evolution for our business.” He said: “While we are known for fast service (we hate missing tight deadlines!), it’s nice to slow down and focus on the true power of audio. In a world filled with noise, crafted sound always cuts through.”

The Craft team has picked a roster of human voice actors for their tone and versatility, Mediaweek reports, and will work with other talent agencies when a brief needs more options. Clients can direct sessions in real time over remote links, or sit in at the company’s Sydney studio. Sound design comes from library sounds, Foley, stock music and original composition.

The line about home studios

Chief Operating Officer Harry Badcock explained why the company built it, and his reason will sting a little for anyone who records from a spare room.

“Our clients have been telling us that some projects call for unique voices. But the hassle of finding, booking and recording freelance talent … takes valuable time they don’t have,” Badcock told Mediaweek. The part he put in the middle of that sentence: freelancers, “sometimes with hit-and-miss home studios.” Under Craft, he said, one call “sorts the talent, studio and edit bookings.”

There’s an opening for freelancers in that complaint. If it is the hassle and the uneven sound, a voice actor with a clean, consistent room and quick turnaround is solving the exact problem Craft is selling. The pitch here is against friction, not against freelancers.

It also says something useful about what agencies are paying for. Badcock’s first sentence is about unique voices. When a brief really matters, the client still wants a person, and is willing to slow down to get the right one.

From AI voices to human casting

Craft is a different bet from the one Abe’s Audio made two years ago. In July 2024, the company launched what it calls ethical AI voiceovers: AI models of opted-in voice talent from its own roster, used by clients for guide reads and high-volume deliverables. The company’s homepage still lists “Human & Ethical AI voices” among its core services.

Udy told Mediaweek at the time that the technology had surprised him. “Six months ago, we were of the view that AI text-to-voice technology would never be as good as humans and would not add value to our clients’ projects,” he said in 2024. “However, over the last few months, the technology improved rapidly.”

Abe's Audio founder Abe Udy. Image: Abe's Audio

He described how the model works for the talent: “When their voice is used to create a read, the talent is paid a fee. They have full visibility over all work created and can opt-out anytime.” And he said the human was always the upgrade: “if the AI voice delivery is not quite what the client is looking for, they can get full creative control by booking the human talent.”

Craft reads like the second half of that sentence turned into its own business. The AI side covers the volume. The human side, with direction, casting and a studio, is where the company is now putting its premium name.

Why super in the fee matters

Superannuation is the money Australian workers have set aside for retirement, and plenty of freelance performers never see theirs. Michael West Media reported in August that “82% of musicians have never seen a cent of their super in three decades.” A booking agency for performers, Fairplay Entertainment, explains on its website that under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act it must put 12% super on booking fees for acts who invoice as individual sole traders, though not for acts invoicing through a company, trust or partnership.

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The rules have also tightened on timing. Since July 1, 2026, super has had to be paid at the same time as salary and wages, the industry fund Media Super notes. A month into those Payday Super changes, Michael West Media found one Sydney agency telling followers it now pays super on top of performance fees, and one entertainment venue telling its audience it is cutting back live music.

Abe’s Audio hasn’t said how it calculates the super it adds to each fee, and Voice Over Herald couldn’t confirm the “industry first” claim. But a production house saying out loud that super is part of the fee is a useful thing for voice actors to point to the next time a quote comes back without it.

The company also brought in former ARN Chief Strategy Officer Lauren Joyce in March on a project basis, to help win new client partnerships and shape its next phase of growth, Mediaweek reports.

Sources: Mediaweek, “Abe’s Audio launches Craft, a bespoke voice and sound arm,” October 20, 2026 (Mediaweek discloses that Abe’s Audio produces its Newsmakers podcast); Mediaweek, “Technology improved much quicker than we’d expected: Abe Udy on power of ethical AI voiceovers,” July 31, 2024; Abe’s Audio website; Fairplay Entertainment; Media Super; Michael West Media, August 6, 2026. Images: Abe’s Audio.

Lee este artículo en español: Abe's Audio dice que cada tarifa de voz en su nueva división Craft incluye el aporte jubilatorio. Su propuesta llama irregulares a algunos estudios caseros

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